Archive for category DeAngelo Williams

How can I NOT have him earlier will be the cry – and it doesn’t matter where he ranks. If it isn’t top 3, it won’t matter. Some folks will be bent out of shape.

Those cries have a case – Williams finally exploded last season and Carolina Head Coach John Fox loves his veterans – usually to the point of benching a more talented rookie.

He might not even have to even make that choice this year as Williams seems to be poised for potentially another great season while second year RB Jonathan Stewart hasn’t stepped up yet to become lead back. And wow is that offensive line adept at opening holes for Panther backs to run through.

Yet even though the offense runs the ball a lot (504 attempts last season) will they duplicate the amount of carries from 2008 in 2009?

Stewart pitched in with 10 touchdowns and even while battling an early injury he played well last season. Rookie Mike Goodson might see some work too. As much as they do run there still should be plenty to go around but it also means they will need to spell Williams. How much? And if they don’t will he burn out after two heavy carry seasons?

Finally, we have to wonder: was what we saw last year the reality – or a one shot deal?

Will he be able to repeat his 2008 performance? We’ve had one year wonders before – and many teams who grabbed them too early in the first regretted it later in the season.

I like Williams, don’t get me wrong. But I’m not sure I like him enough to take him with a top five pick like many are suggesting.

Not too much going on this morning (or towards lunch for you Easterners) so this will be a bit brief. Feel free to check out the archives or yesterday’s Top 20 rankings.

So a few of the points to follow today:

Buffalo BillsTackle Jason Peters continues his holdout and while the sides have been back and forth occasionally, for the most part there hadn’t been a lot of movement. I have heard a few rumors he is in Orchard Park now and that’s a good sign. I don’t think it’s disastrous for the fantasy value of Marshawn Lynch and Trent Edwards & Co. if this lingers, but I do also remember what happened when Shaun Alexander lost his best lineman in Steve Hutchinson. Let’s hope we don’t have to find out if the biggest factor in that was age.

Carolina PanthersAccording to the Rock Hill Herald, rookie running back Jonathan Stewart might play in Thursday’s game against the Eagles. HC John Fox needs to find out if Stewart is healthy enough to carry the rock consistently and if he’s got enough of a grasp on the playbook to be trusted. DeAngelo Williams is having a good enough Training Camp to where the rookie can be eased in a bit.

Denver BroncosTwo important bits here – 1) it was reported that Michael Pittman would move back to tailback from fullback after Ryan Torain busted his elbow. That has not happened. The #2 battle is between Andre Hall (staff favorite from last year) and Anthony Alridge. Hall is a more fully rounded back andI think gets hte job but Alridge is a phenomenally gifted athlete who is explosive and can make things happen. As always, with Denver, the back-ups are just as important (and befuddling) as the starters. 2) TE Tony Sheffler battled foot problems all spring and it was a concern whether or not he would be healthy and effective come Spetember. Worry no more. The big TE has been practicing twice a day in camp with no problems. With Brandon Marshall on the pine for at least 2, likely 3 games, Sheffler will get a ton of looks and can be a threat long for Cutler. The two are close friends as well and remember, it never hurts to be the QB’s buddy!

That’s all for now – more later – also, remember that the Thundering Blurb Fantasy Football show will be on tonight at 9pm EST/6pm PST! Head to the Thundering Blurb home page and tuen in live or download it via ITunes later!

Of course, more things happened this weekend than merely the Willis McGahee injury I mentioned last post.

Let’s go over some of them.

Seattle SeahawksBobby Engram injured his shoulder in the game this weekend, in a way that didn’t give me all that much pause at the time. Turns out it was much worse than it looked – Engram cracked his shoulder and will be out now for somewhere between 6-8 weeks, best case scenario with him returning for week 3. How likely that is certainly is a good question with Engram being 35 and not as spry as he once was. This leaves Burleson at the 1 spot still and a veritable free for all in the 2 spot with Courtney Taylor, Ben Obomanu and Logan Payne. Payne and Taylor have been banged up but nobody has the full edge yet. Keep an eye – one of these guys could have huge upside as the number 2. On the other hand if they all falter, things will be tough on Hasselback and Burleson owners.

Pittsburgh Steelers First off, reports from the weekend that Daunte Culpepper was signed by the Steelers were mistaken. I suppose one aging and inneffective QB a weekend is the limit for QB signings. Byron Leftwich – he of the release so slow my 3 year old can count to 100 before he gets the pass off – was signed for very little and will open as the #2 behind Big Ben. The minimal cap amount tells you three things, one you already knew – 1) They don’t expect to need him, so neither should you. 2) They can cut him at any time, meaning his long term prospects are almost exactly what they were before Batch went down. 3) That little money reminds you just how little interest there is in this guy. Again, rather than draft him to back up Big Ben, pick up even a marginal starting QB (Trent Edwards, JaMarcus Russell, Matt Leinart) instead.

Tampa Bay Bucaneers The bucs are still dangling Chris Simms out there and there is interest – but most teams appear to be waiting for him to get cut. Sure, the Bucs could keep him on the roster, but word is that the rift between he and Chuckie Gruden is far too wide – so it wouldn’t stun me if he was outright cut if another team didn’t deal for him. Incidentally, the Cowboys supposedly had scouts at the Tampa Bay game this weekend and may still be in play to trade for him.

New York Jets As a known Jets fan with a new Favre jersey on the way (NFL.com WHERE IS MY JERSEY?) it should come as a suprise to nobody that I was goaded by my fellow owners in the local league I play, in an attempt to get me to reach for Favre as my QB – it started in round 3 and went until he was picked by someone else in round 10 . As I know you really don’t care a whit for my league, I merely mention it to illustrate this point I have said many times already – Favre’s biggest effect on Fantasy will be for his supporting cast, not himself. It’s not to say Favre will not do well – he might. However, the difference in expectations between what Penningon/Clemens can do with a ball and what The Favre does are pretty significant. Thomas Jones, Cotchery, Coles, Leon Washington – those are the guys who will reap the benefits of success more than Favre himself. I’ll throw out Dustin Keller as well – the kid is just tearing up Training Camp and may get a lot of looks along the sidelines. Favre will be no more than a solid QB2. Any Jets fans (or Favre fans) out there, let them yell – just keep picking value and ignore the taunts.

Carolina Panthers Steve Smith suffered a concussion in the preseason game this weekend and while it won’t matter longer term (especially since he will miss weeks 1 and 2) he probably won’t play in Thursday’s game against the Eagles. It’s nothing more than that, but at this point we’ll see a lot less of our usual veterans and considering Engram, McGahee and now Smith’s injuries, it’s all the better for most Fantasy Teams. By the way, reports from Panthers camp are that the thought that rookie Johnathan Stewart will easily replace DeAngelo Williams from the starter’s job when he returns from his toe injury might have been premature. First, Stewart has missed a ton of camp and even working every day in rehab and reading playbooks will not replace reps lost in camp and preseason games. Second, Williams has allegedly redoubled his efforts this off-season and is far more dedicated than he has been in the past. Thirdly, HC John Fox loves his vets and doesn’t hand anything over to rookies, as Williams’ Dynasty owners are very aware. The longer Stewart is out and the better Williams can do in camp, the closer to a regular RBBC this will be, so I hope you drafted accordingly.

Amazing. Murphy didn’t look pleased leaving. Brett did – though he only logged two hours. Cooke looked a little smug, but who knows? what were they talking about? Trades? Retirement? Whether Heath Ledger should get an Oscar nod?

I don’t know. Friday will be very interesting indeed. I would love to know – for real – what Favre wants. I am not 100% sure he’s only after a release. But I’d be curious to know what is really in his head.

Carolina PanthersDeAngelo Williams has been running with the first team so far – HC John Fox doesn’t give starting gigs away without earning it. I still think Jonathan Stewart will get most of the carries, but you shouldn;t be looking at him as anything beyond a 3rd RB with tremendous upside. But anything sooner and you are facing some real risk – as with all rookie RBs.

Cincinatti Bengals Rudi Johnson is looking very strong in camp – he may end up being a value at the end of the 2nd rounds (and farther back) where he is going now. But don’t read too much into the hype yet – he has to hold up over the season and that offensive line still has some large question marks.

Pittsburgh SteelersRashard Mendenhall and Willie Parker are still looking like they will split carries. And here’s the thing – they seem very happy with that. Parker was ok during the time he split with Bettis – productive overall. You can count on good yardage for him and an uptick of touchdowns, but anything would be better than last year. Mendenhall will probably do all right and vulture some TDs but like Stewart, he won’t be reliable enough to warrant more than a #3 spot on your team. But I think he will grow to be a tremendous compliment to Parker as years progress.

That’s all for now – remember – in less than an hour and a half – The Thundering Blurb podcast goes LIVE at BlogtalkRadio.com! 9pmEST/6pmPST!